Post-game Interview - Grahm Smith

ANDERSON, S.C. – Going against an Anderson team that won 26 games a season ago and was tabbed to finish second in the South Atlantic Conference, the Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball team battled for 40 minutes and came up just short. In her Lenoir-Rhyne debut, Emily Harman went for 20 points and added six boards. Hanna McClung (13 points) and Tatum McBride (11) also scored in double-digits for the Bears.

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Anderson 70, Lenoir-Rhyne 64
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (0-1, 0-1 SAC) | Anderson (3-1, 3-1 SAC)
Location: Abney Center | Anderson, S.C.

STATS AND INFO:
- Anderson has now won the last six head-to-head matchups with the Bears and 17 of the past 18 contests
- Today marked the LR coaching debut for Grahm Smith, making him the 13^th coach in program history
- Lenoir-Rhyne drops to 31-27-1 all-time in season openers and have won just three openers in the past 11 seasons.
- Lenoir-Rhyne went 11-for-21 from long range, converting at a 52.4 percent clip. The last time Lenoir-Rhyne shot above 50 percent from three as a team was on Jan. 18, 2018 when they went 4-for-7 against Queens.

FIRST HALF:
- Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 26-11 lead after the first quarter on 9-of-14 shooting
- The LR zone confused the Trojans who shot just 29.4 percent in the opening stanza
- A 12-0 run by Anderson in the second quarter drew the Trojans within two but Josie Hise connected on a jumper to keep the Bears ahead. Hise finished the first half on nine points and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the field
- Harman poured in 10 first half points on 4-of-8 shooting and added five boards and two assists
- Anderson jumped out to a 38-33 lead with 19 seconds left in the half but McClung ended the frame with a deep 3-pointer to cut the Trojans lead to 38-36 heading into the break

SECOND HALF:
- McBride connected on LR's first basket of the second half and added a pair of 3-pointers to erupt for 8 third-quarter points
- However, the Trojans would start to pull away late and outscored the Bears 18-10 in the final quarter
- The Trojans extended the lead to nine points (their largest margin of the game) with 4:45 to play and the Bears were unable to close the gap to under four points the rest of the way

ABOUT THE BEARS:
- Hise was a perfect 3-for-3 from distance and the trio of Wise, McClung and McBride each hit three 3-pointers
- Olivia Nunn added nine points and three boards
- Kiara Moore and Harman tied for the team lead with six boards

NOTABLE TROJANS:
- Brittany Bailey had a career-high 11 points for Anderson and added six boards and a pair of steals. Bailey didn't miss a shot from the field, going a perfect 5-for-5
- Ashley Berry had 10 points and four assists and was 3-for-4 from the field
- The Trojan bench outscored Lenoir-Rhyne reserves 44-11

UP NEXT:
The Bears will look to bounce back after a quick turnaround. Lenoir-Rhyne will travel to Limestone on Monday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tipoff.